A new study examining whether patients with chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) were routinely vaccinated against Hepatitis A virus (HAV) found that vaccination rates were low, even though HAV vaccination is recommended for patients with chronic liver disease.
The results of this study appear in the September 2005 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hepatology is available onlin
The sense of smell in women who are on the pill is tuned in to food, while women who are not on the pill are better at picking up the odor of male sweat. This is shown by Swedish and American researchers in the latest issue of Biological Psychology.
It has long been known that the use of hormones affects the sense of smell in humans, but this influence has been seen as general, that is, that the sensitivity to all smells is impacted to the same extent. The researchers study at th
The brain plays an important role in the maintenance of proper bone density, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have revealed.
The results of this research, involving a study of the activity of the protein interleukin 1 in the brain, comprise not only a breakthrough in understanding the regulation of bone density by the brain but also hold promise for the development of future treatment for osteoporosis, say the researchers. An article about their work appears in th
Five years ago x-ray crystallography made it possible for the first time to study ribosomes in cells, where the all-important synthesis of proteins takes place. But it hasnt been understood just how amino acids are joined together to form proteins. Now researchers at Uppsala University have discovered the only possible mechanism and have used it to explain a number of biochemical experiments.
The new findings, being published in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National
Bringing technology to the judiciary, European researchers are developing pilot applications that could speed up, clarify and provide secure access to legal procedures and a start-up company to promote the results.
With partners such as SAP, Thales and Unisys, the eJustice project aims to modernise the representation of legal procedures within countries, and between authorities of EU states.
Several pilot applications are being developed and evaluated.
Fo
Coral reefs, the rainforests of the sea, feed a large portion of the world’s population, protect tropical shorelines from erosion, and harbor animals and plants with great potential to provide new therapeutic drugs. Unfortunately, reefs are now beset by problems ranging from local pollution and overfishing to outbreaks of coral disease and global warming. Although most scientists agree that reefs are in desperate trouble, they disagree strongly over the timing and causes of the coral reef cri
A new study by NYU dental researchers suggests that women with dental caries (cavities) who deliver Caesarean-section babies should pay special attention to their newborns’ oral health.
The NYU researchers focused on a caries-causing bacterium that mothers with caries transmit to their newborns. Known as Streptococcus mutans, the bacterium grows on tooth surfaces and in crannies between teeth just above the gum line, where it multiplies and converts foods, especially those co
Patients with primary biliary cirrhosis who are treated with methotrexate have an increased risk of death, according to a new systematic review of studies.
In five randomized controlled trials involving 457 people, the authors report that for patients treated with methotrexate, as a single therapy or in combination with other drug treatment, pooled data showed a tendency toward an increased risk of death or liver transplantation. The brand names for methotrexate are Rheumatre
FA class of drugs known as MAO-B inhibitors may be effective in improving motor symptoms in people with early Parkinson’s disease and may delay the need for treatment with other drugs, according to a new systematic review of current evidence.
However, contrary to results from other studies, the researchers found that MAO-B (monoamine oxidase B) inhibitors do not appear to slow the disease’s progression.
“ The benefits of MAO-B inhibitors are small but may be worthwhile i
The military’s next generation of airborne drones won’t be just small and silent – they’ll also dive between buildings, zoom under overpasses and land on apartment balconies.
At least, that’s what University of Florida engineers are working toward.
Funded by the U.S. Air Force and NASA, UF aerospace engineers have built prototypes of 6-inch- to 2-foot- drones capable of squeezing in and out of tight spots in cities — like tiny urban stunt planes. Their secret: seagull-in
A study examines the incidence and risk factors associated with Hepatitis C infection in rural Egypt
The prevalence of antibodies to Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in Egypt is among the highest in the world. From the 1950s until 1982 hundreds of thousands were infected during mass campaigns to control schistosomiasis (a parasitic disease) using mass therapy with intravenous antimony compounds, but little is known about current risk factors and rates of transmission. Studies of high risk p
Neuroscientists from the University at Buffalo have described for the first time how rotenone, an environmental toxin linked specifically to Parkinson’s disease, selectively destroys the neurons that produce dopamine, the neurotransmitter critical to body movement and muscle control.
Microtubules, intracellular highways that transport dopamine to the brain area that controls body movement, are the crucial target, they report.
Damage to microtubules prevents dopa
Genetic finding may have implications for farsightedness and nearsightedness, too.
Working with an Amish-Mennonite family tree, Johns Hopkins researchers at the Wilmer Eye Institute have discovered what appears to be the first human gene mutation that causes extreme farsightedness.
The researchers report that nanophthalmos, Greek for “dwarf eye,” is a rare, potentially blinding disorder caused by an alteration in a gene called MFRP that helps control eye growth and regulate
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Study published in New England Journal of Medicine
A Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh study finds that prompt insertion of tympanostomy tubes (small ear tubes) does not improve developmental outcomes of children at 6 years of age as once thought.
Lead investigator Jack L. Paradise, MD, pediatrician and otitis media expert at Children’s and professor of Pediatrics and Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh School of
Scientists at the Woods Hole Research Center are producing a high-resolution “National Biomass and Carbon Dataset” for the year 2000 (NBCD2000), the first ever inventory of its kind. Through a combination of NASA satellite datasets, topographic survey data, land use/land cover data, and extensive forest inventory data collected by the U.S. Forest Service, this “millennium” dataset will serve as an invaluable baseline for carbon stock assessment and flux modeling in the United States.
The
Engineered bug makes key chemical precursor from grain sorghum
Trials have begun in Kansas on a “green” production method for succinate, a key ingredient of many plastics, drugs, solvents and food additives. Developed at Rice University, the technology uses a genetically modified form of the bacteria E. coli that metabolizes glucose and produces almost pure succinate.
Finding “green” methods to make key chemical intermediates like succinate is a high priority for the
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